


only just a nightmare

by supercutegeeks



Category: Agent Carter (TV), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: F/F, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-09
Updated: 2015-04-09
Packaged: 2018-03-22 03:00:29
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,066
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3712309
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/supercutegeeks/pseuds/supercutegeeks
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Peggy finds it hard to sleep some nights when it gets too quiet, and Angie tries to help. Cartinelli & mentioned Steggy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	only just a nightmare

Sleeping in Howard Stark’s house definitely has its advantages, but Peggy misses the constant noise the walls leaked through at the Griffith.  The engines of the passing cars had always proved as a successful deterrent for the dreams, but now in the silence they come chasing back tenfold.

Sometimes it’s the bullets flying through her shoulder again, throwing her forward into blackness, and the warm trickle of blood and exhaustion that came after that.

Those are the easy nights.

The hard ones come when she’s the one in the plane. Peggy never knew what it really looked like for him, all alone in stolen Hydra technology, so far above the endless sea of white, but she can picture it, and she can hear both of their voices as the plane goes down, down, down.

_A week next Saturday at the Stork Club. Eight o’clock on the dot. Don’t you dare be late._

The plane ride ends in choking darkness, filling her up like murky ink until she sits up and sees the ray of moonlight falling across the silk sheets, reminding her that it’s not all over. That she’s still real, even if he isn’t.

This is why she doesn’t close the curtains any longer. 

Tonight it’s especially bad, and when Peggy wills herself back into consciousness she’s almost trembling, and when she brings a hand up to her face she can feel dampness on her cheeks.

She gets out of bed quietly. Angie’s taken to switching rooms randomly and she wouldn’t want to wake her.

Peggy pads her way softly to the kitchen, the combination of her slippers and years of practice allowing her footsteps to remain silent. 

The teakettle doesn’t keep as quiet, and she’s so lost in thought that it must be whistling for a full minute before she stops it, quickly pouring herself a cup and sitting down at the small kitchen table. 

It’s probably woken up Angie at this point, but Peggy hopes that she’ll just go back to sleep. Being neighbors back at the Griffith must have alerted Angie at this point to Peggy’s nocturnal habits, and perhaps by now she’s gotten used to it.

But Peggy’s only had three sips of her tea when Angie comes into the kitchen, a blanket draped over her shoulders and her hair significantly more mussed up than its usual perfect configuration.

“What’re you doing making tea at… two in the morning?” She yawns, and Peggy can’t help herself but to think that she’s really very cute like this.

“I… couldn’t sleep.”

“Sure, English.” Angie sits down across the table from her and fiddles with the edge of her blanket. “There’s something you’re not telling me.”

“I’ve told you everything by now, Angie. You know about my job.”

“Yeah, but that’s not it. There’s something else."

Peggy thought that a career in intelligence and lying would have better prepared her to conceal these things, but she supposes she doesn’t try as hard with Angie. There must be some stubborn part of her, not quite as hardened as the rest that wants Angie in.

And of course it wasn’t just Peggy’s fear of becoming close to people that had prevented her all this time from telling Angie about who she really is. Colleen had gotten killed, murdered in cold blood because of something Peggy had done, and if there was anything that she was sure about it was that she wouldn’t ever want the same fate to befall Angie. It’s a terrible pattern to have in one’s life, losing anyone that becomes close to you, and Peggy is eager to break it.

But she supposes that it’s probably too late now to save her at this point, after she’s climbed through Angie’s window and been taken away from the Griffith in handcuffs and invited her friend to live in the mansion of an eccentric millionaire and blown her whole cover.

There are some things, however, that no matter what logic says, Peggy will always want to keep covered up.

Because even though this waitress’ eyes are gorgeous and her smile makes Peggy light up a bit inside, there will always be a kind spot in her heart for that skinny kid from Brooklyn. 

That doesn’t mean he isn’t gone now, and that doesn’t mean that she shouldn’t be moving on.

Peggy takes a deep breath. 

“You’re right, Angie, there is something else I haven’t told you.”

//

Half an hour and two cups of tea later, Angie leans back in her chair, weighty with the story Peggy’s just told her.

“So that explains why you don’t like the Captain America show, doesn’t it.”

“I suppose so.”

“Why didn’t you tell me this before?”

“I don’t really… know. Maybe I didn’t want you to think any different of me, whether I was Peggy from the automat or Captain America’s old…” Peggy trails off without finishing her sentence, but it isn’t hard for Angie to get the idea.

Angie sighs. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s alright.”

All is silent for a few more minutes, until Angie drains the rest of her tea and stands up. 

“Thanks for the story, English, but I really do have to go to sleep now. The job isn’t gonna wait if I’m not there tomorrow at six.”

“Of course, Angie.”

As she’s leaving the kitchen, Angie looks back at Peggy sitting emptily in one of the wooden chairs, staring vacantly at the darkened window, and suddenly feels a surge of sympathy for the other woman.

“Hey Peg.”

“Yes?” Peggy’s voice is distracted.

“Do you wanna… I dunno, come sleep… in my room? So you can… sleep better?” she finishes lamely, immediately feeling embarrassed as a red blush rises to her cheeks.

Peggy seems to shake herself out of something before replying.

“Actually, Angie, I think I might take you up on that offer.”

//

They start out on opposite sides of the bed, but soon after Angie rolls over, her hair falling almost in Peggy’s face. She brushes it back gently and turns so that she’s facing the other woman. Angie’s face is serene and relaxed, and her breathing is quiet and regular. Peggy hasn’t realized how much she’s missed that simple comfort.

It’s just enough to make her allow herself to close her eyes and let the tension escape from her body; because now at least she knows she won’t be waking up alone anymore.

 

**Author's Note:**

> follow me on tumblr @ lkarnstein for more!!


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